Return to the Frontier
by AikoNamika
Summary: Though the Frontier gang thinks that their troubles have all finished, it looks like something more is in store for them when a new enemy comes from the shadows. And some new friends...
1. Enter the Digital World!

**Title: Return to the Frontier**

Author: AikoNamika

Warnings: Original Characters (attempts not to make them Mary Sues/Gary Stus, but they're still original), language, occasional violence, an author who's often just making things up as she goes along.

Pairings: None at the moment, but knowing me...anything is possible! (That includes shounen-ai, shoujo-ai, and het – more detailed warnings will become available as I figure it out.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon: Frontier, or any of its related merchandise. They belong to rich people in big offices, while I'm just a girl with personality problems. However, all original characters, original Digimon, and the plot line belong to me, and there will be severe consequences if I see anyone stealing!

Note: I'm working with a combination of the English anime and what information I can glean off of websites – if something seems completely screwed up, well then you know why.

Additional Note: The little commentary-thingies at the end of the "episodes" will be done by my muse/plot-bunny wrangler, Nall. Just so you know who the heck he is. ::nods::

**Chapter 1: A New Enemy – Return to the Digital World!**

Takuya Kanbara sighed happily as he lay back, folding his arms under his head to act as a pillow. The sun was shining comfortably on him, warming him pleasantly. His stomach was full of good Italian food that he'd scarfed until he couldn't eat any more. The most important of all of his surroundings, and the one that was contributing the most to his current feeling of comfort, was the fact that he was surrounded by a group of his close friends.

Three years. It had been exactly three years since they'd last gone to the Digital World and found their Spirits, since they'd found _each other_ and discovered the deep connection between all of them. That time spent in the Digital World had been some of the most life-affirming moments he'd ever experienced. However...after they'd defeated Lucemon, they'd had to return to the real world; leaving behind their Spirits to guard and defend all those who they'd met on their journeys.

However, even though their adventure was over, they'd all stayed friends – the bonds they'd formed were too strong to be broken by time. Of course, they'd all changed in the past years, both physically and mentally: Junpei had lost the extra weight that had earned him the "fat kid" comments and gained both height and muscle. Tomoki was now regarded a bit as a hero in his age group, his bravery in standing up to bullies and defending the smaller kids earning him a reputation. Izumi was no longer an outcast, now being one of the most popular kids in school – fiery, brave, and always willing to help; having grown more physically beautiful as time passed helped quite a lot as well. Kouji and Kouichi had grown closer to each other, and it was now very difficult to tell them apart – their personalities were still slightly different, and Kouji's hair was still longer than his twin's, but otherwise they seemed to delight in confusing as many people as they could. Not only that, but they'd also grown taller, though they weren't the tallest people in their little group at all. Takuya himself had gained height in a very startling way, now standing almost as tall as Junpei, though he wasn't as lanky as the twins or as muscled as the older boy. The most startling change was the fact that even though he was still just as gung-ho as he used to be, he was now willing to slow down and plan things out for a moment – he'd become a great leader. Of course, there will still many people who could do nothing other than regard him with skepticism and amusement – the fact that he continued to hang onto his goggles made him seem slightly childish to some.

The six of them had all gathered here with food brought from their resident chef (Izumi) with a few contributions from the rest of them. Izumi wore a new outfit she'd bought for the occasion – a light purple wrap-around skirt with a dark purple flower pattern, and a white peasant blouse. The twins had apparently decided to appeal to their sense of the ironic, and Kouji wore a black t-shirt and shorts while Kouichi wore white – the opposites of their respective elements. Tomoki wore a green t-shirt with some sort of gray logo on it, and khaki shorts. Junpei had simple gone for a pair of blue jeans and a blue t-shirt, deciding to stick to something simple. Takuya himself wore black shorts and a plain red t-shirt, though small rips and tears indicated that it had been well-worn beforehand. It had been an almost idyllic gathering, with various memories and stories drifting between the group as they remembered the DigiWorld.

However, their gentle summer day was not to go completely uninterrupted – and they'd get a chance that they had never thought they'd gain again.

Takuya's cell phone rang, and a moment later it was echoed by all the others around him. He sat up and pulled his phone out of his pocket, watching as, one by one, the others did the same. His eyes widened with shock as he suddenly registered the familiar symbol glowing on his screen – one he hadn't seen for far too long.

"Is that..." Kouji trailed off, staring as well.

"It can't be..." Kouichi continued.

"Ophanimon?!" The twins' voices chorused in surprise, voicing the thought that all six Chosen Children were thinking.

Words scrolled across the screen, neatly typed letters that got Takuya's eyes widening in excitement.

'_Play again? Yes/No._'

"I can't believe this...!" Izumi's astonished voice broke the silence that had descended, and then she started to smile, and then laugh. "I can't believe this!"

"Yes! Hell, yeah!" Junpei leapt to his feet, laughing as well – there were smiles on all of their faces. "A chance to go back to the Digital World and see _everyone_ again?! YES!" He reached for the buttons of his phone, prepared to send out an immediate response, but an unexpected interruption stopped him.

"Wait..." Everyone turned to look at Kouji as he stood beside his twin, the smile faded from his face and his eyes dark. "The last time Ophanimon asked us to 'play', we ended up nearly dying." He cast a troubled look at Kouichi. "Some of us came closer than others."

"Yeah, but the last time we were the only hope that the Digital World _had_. Who's to say that this time isn't the same?" Takuya objected, his brown eyes intense.

"But..." Kouji trailed off worriedly. Kouichi placed a comforting hand on his younger twin's shoulder.

"I'll be alright – I don't plan on taking the stairs again if _I_ can help it." He grinned mischievously, eliciting a weak answering smile from his brother. "Of course, Takuya's right, you know. We have to help – we're probably the last resort they've got." Kouji nodded resignedly at that, and then smiled strongly once more.

"You're right. I was just worried." He nodded towards Junpei apologetically. "Sorry about that – let's go!" As one, the six Chosen Children pressed a button on their phones: '_Yes._'

A flash of light, and then the symbol and the invitation was gone, leaving only a single message: '_Leave on the Trailmon from Shibuya Station at 5:45. I look forward to seeing you once again._'

"What time is it?" Tomoki asked, then promptly laughed quietly at himself and checked the watch strapped around his wrist. "I keep forgetting that I have this – my mom just got it for me recently." He paused, and then answered his own question. "Okay, it's 2:57 right now."

Takuya nodded, and then looked around at the others. "That gives us a little less than three hours to get ready – a lot nicer of a time gap than what she gave us the first time! However, I think we should agree to meet at the Trailmon station at around 5:30 – that should give us a good comfort zone," he paused and grinned at Kouji, "and hopefully no one will miss it and have to get to the Digital World through a _different_ route." That remark got a laugh out of everyone, and then they split up to head to their homes so that they could be a bit more prepared for this particular trip.

Kouji and Kouichi arrived last, the pair each carrying matching blue backpacks, the bags packed with a few basic camping essentials, a blanket, a few changes of clothes, and some items that they thought could be useful for bartering with if they needed to. The other four children (now teens, really) stood waiting at the doors, and the six of them stepped into the elevator all together. A slight tingle ran down their spines as the elevator dropped, the light indicating that they were descending toward the bottom floor – and then continued past that indicator, picking up speed rapidly as it fell.

"Did this happen to you the first time around?!" Kouichi's question was almost shouted as he held his baseball cap down on his head to keep it from flying off, feeling as if he'd left his stomach several floors up.

Before anyone could reply, they landed at the bottom floor with a _bang!_, the doors hissing open and revealing the empty, and familiar, Trailmon station. There was no Trailmon there yet, but when Kouji checked the watch on his cell phone, he saw that it was only 5:35. They had ten minutes to wait, so to pass the time the six travelers settled down on the steps of the central elevator tower to talk.

"I guess they managed to repair this place, huh?" Junpei's idle question started them off, and Kouichi blinked in confusion at the taller teen, then his expression cleared.

"Oh yes – when the dark Lucemon went and completely destroyed this when he tried to enter the Real World." Indeed, there was no sign of the terrible damage that had taken place when the demonic Digimon made his abortive attempt to gain entrance into the Real World, not even places where it was evident that repairs had taken place – it looked exactly as it had before.

Time passed quickly, and a Trailmon soon pulled into the station, announcing loudly, "All aboard for the Digital World Express, final stop Forest Terminal!" Laughing brightly, the six of them piled onto the Trailmon, the Train Digimon closing its doors and pulling out as soon as it was sure that all of them were aboard. Izumi stared dreamily out the window at the dark tunnel beyond, her thoughts obviously miles away.

"I hope we get our Spirits back – I want to be Fairymon and fly around again." She sighed happily, and Junpei nodded from his vantage point further up the compartment.

"Yeah. It was so amazing to be Blitzmon and have all that power. Just...fantastic." His voice was just as wistful as hers, and the tall teen rested his chin idly on his hand.

"I wonder if it will feel different when I'm really _there_, instead of just a spirit," Kouichi wondered. Kouji just hugged his twin, reassuring him of his presence and the unbreakable bond the two shared – it had survived through birth separation, brainwashing, battles, near-death, and a number of other trials. It would easily last through this.

Suddenly the Trailmon rocked violently, and everyone grabbed onto the edges of their seats or any other convenient hand hold, their bags going tumbling down to the ground. For a moment, everything flickered, and zeros and ones were the only things that glowed in the sudden complete darkness, then that vision was gone – and each child was surrounded for a moment by the aspect of their Human Spirit, their cell phones lighting up brilliantly and changing shape once more to become the dear sight of their D-Tectors.

"Hey, mine's back to the way it was at first!" Takuya's comment had Kouji examining his own D-Tector, and he confirmed that.

"Yeah, it's just like it was before Ophanimon changed them." Once again all talking was cut off suddenly as the Trailmon lurched, spinning and spiraling and twisting around and around and upside-down until all of them were thoroughly shaken _and_ stirred. Finally the ride smoothed out, and Tomoki let out a delighted cry as he glanced out the window.

"Look! We're here! We're in the Digital World again!" There was a general rush for the windows, and they spent a long moment with their faces nearly plastered to the glass as they watched the landscape roll by.

"This is so wonderful...!" Izumi sighed happily, and then giggled as she held her familiar pink-and-purple D-Tector to her chest, spinning around in place once. They all nodded in agreement, not able to think of anything else to say in response that wouldn't sound trite and overly-cliché. There was nothing, and so the once-more Chosen Children settled down to enjoy the trip. Afternoon passed into evening, and then into night, and they all settled down to sleep the trip away, as clouds had covered the sky and there just wasn't enough light outside the Trailmon to see any of the landscape going by. Plus, they wanted to be well-rested and invigorated for their meeting with the Great Angel Digimon...whenever they got to Forest Terminal.

Izumi stretched out on a long bench, using her bag as a pillow and pulling a blanket over her, falling asleep quickly, a smile on her face. Tomoki was in much the same state, but Junpei had a bit of trouble getting himself comfortable at first – he wasn't as short as he used to be. Kouichi and Kouji fell asleep against each other, curled up together like a pair of puppies, sharing their blankets and the comfort of their physical presence. Takuya, unlike everyone else, had trouble falling asleep at first, and spent a long time just sitting in his seat with his blanket draped over his knees as he scrolled through his D-Tector and smiled softly at the images of his two Spirits.

"Agnimon...Vritamon...It's good to have you back," he whispered, and tucked the hand-held machine against his chest as he lay down and finally fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning they were all rudely jolted awake at the sound of a sudden explosion outside the Trailmon, the startled yell of the attacked Digimon jerking them the rest of the way out of sleep.

"We're under attack! Help meeee!" Takuya leapt to his feet, looking out the window and cursing under his breath as he saw the pair of Sneemon harassing their ride. He glanced down the car they were in to see how the others were doing: the twins stood ready, their D-Tectors tightly in hand. Izumi was much the same, though she rubbed her bleary eyes and tried to get her hair out of her face. Junpei had fallen off of the slightly cramped bench to the floor with a yelp, but he levered himself gamely to his feet. Tomoki stood on his bench with one hand against the window and a frown on his face as he tried to make out their enemy.

"Twin Sickles!" The buzzing shout caused Takuya to forget the others for a moment as he dove to the side to save his skin. The purple-hued attack tore through the side of the car where he'd been standing, and his eyes hardened in anger.

"Okay, that's it!" He looked over toward Izumi, who had stretched her hand out to him to help him up. He accepted it, and then looked toward the rent in the wall. "You were saying you couldn't wait to fly again? Well, here's your chance!" She nodded determinedly, and pulled out her D-Tector in preparation.

A ring of Digicode appeared around each Chosen Child's left hand, and they slashed the tops of their D-Tectors down along the code as they shouted out, "EXECUTE!" They pulled the two hands apart, allowing the code they'd scanned to spiral out and around them, beginning the transformation. "SPIRIT EVOLUTION!" A rush of power surrounded them, and surrounded by their own Digicodes they left behind their human forms and became Digimon again for the first time in three years.

"Agnimon!"

"Wolfmon!"

"Lowemon!"

"Fairymon!"

"Blitzmon!"

"Chakmon!"

The Legendary Warriors were back in the Digital World once more, and they were ready to wreak some havoc.

Fairymon and Blitzmon launched themselves into the air outside of the Trailmon through the rent in the side, while the others leapt for the roof to prepare themselves for the battle. The pair of Sneemon who had attacked paused, apparently surprised at the unexpected response to their aggressions. Then one hissed and attacked once more, slashing its scythe-like arms at Chakmon.

"Twin Sickles!"

"Crystal Breeze!" The icy attack set a thick layer of ice upon the insect-Digimon, distracting them while the white teddy bear-like Legendary Warrior leapt aside, wincing as the dodged attack tore another hole in their transport.

"Hurricane Winds!" Whirlwinds lashed out from Fairymon's direction, striking the two and sending them towards the ground; Agnimon lashed out at the same time as Blitzmon, the fire and thunder frying the pair so that they were both covered with scorches. Finally the two Sneemon did their best to escape, only to have one intercept Wolfmon's "Lobo Kendo" whilst the other was taken care of by Lowemon's "Darkness Spear." It was the end for the pair, and they were quick to be scanned, their cleansed Digi-eggs flying off to the Village of Beginnings.

All six children – teens now, most of them, returned to the Trailmon and chose a different car to sit in (after Fairymon had made sure the Trailmon himself was alright), de-evolving back to their normal selves. Though they were excited and happy about the fact that they had finally been able to Spirit Evolve once more, something felt...off.

"That was too easy," the twins chorused after a long moment of silence. Takuya nodded his head, and found that he wasn't the only one in agreement.

"Why were they attacking this Trailmon? It's not like it was carrying any valuables..." Tomoki commented in puzzlement.

"Only us, of course; and what's more valuable than a Legendary Warrior?" Izumi chimed in. However, Junpei wasn't convinced about that.

"I dunno – they seemed awfully surprised to see us," he said seriously. "It was as if they were just attacking randomly, for no reason at all!" This sent them all into a quiet thoughtful state. Could this have something to do with the reason they'd been called back to the Digital World?

They reached the Forest Terminal within a few hours, the bright sunlight shining down upon the woodland Trailmon stop and banishing the heavy mist they'd seen the last time they'd been here. The path to the top was wide open and the six of them bounded up the steps, chattering excitedly amongst themselves and relaying to Kouichi what had happened the first time they'd come here. Hopefully there wouldn't be such a repeat incident, but the happenings of that morning were still heavily upon their minds.

Finally they came to the end of the path – the crystalline castle in which Seraphimon had lain protected for centuries until they'd managed to free him. The great white gates loomed over them, closed for the time being, and they all eyed the gates curiously – how were they to get inside?

A soft hum answered that question, and lights began to glow on all of their D-Tectors: red for Takuya, green for Tomoki, pink for Izumi, light blue for Junpei, dark blue for Kouji, and dark purple for Kouichi. The beams of light all shot forward and concentrated in the center of the gate for a moment, and a flicker of multi-colored light ran over half-seen runes etched in the gate before it all died away – the light from both the gate and the D-Tectors. With a quiet creak, the doors swung open and admitted them into the front room of the castle – and into the presence of a very familiar 'mon.

Sorcerermon smiled as best a being with a cloak covering his face could smile, and spread his arms wide, the snowflake staff in his left hand gleaming in the warm sunlight.

"Welcome back, Legendary Warriors! My Lords and my Lady want to speak with you immediately, so come quickly." With that he turned and began to stride rapidly away, all six Chosen Children darting quickly after him, their longer legs allowing them to keep up far more easily than they had the last time.

Up and up they went, higher and higher until finally they reached the tower room in which they had first met the angelic Digimon, and smiles burst over their faces as they registered the presence of all three – Seraphimon, Ophanimon, and the purified Cherubimon, each one looking as healthy as ever. However, there was a slight tiredness about them, as if they had been dealing with things that they didn't really want to – but all that was forgotten as the Angelic Guardians rushed over to greet the new arrivals warmly.

"Children! You have all grown so much – I guess it has indeed been some time in your world, as a very long time has passed in ours!" Ophanimon beamed at them, and then gave up all pretense of decorum and hugged each one tightly. "It is good to see you again."

Seraphimon's greeting was similar, though there was an absence of hugging, but a great deal of warm smiles exchanged (though you couldn't really see behind his mask to his face, you could tell he was smiling). At first it was slightly awkward greeting Cherubimon, but as both his looks and his personality were completely different from the dark being they'd first met, things smoothed out after a while. A few minutes were spent engaging in idle chit-chat, and then the trio of Digimon settled down to business.

"I am both pleased and sad to see you here today – pleased because I have missed you, and sad because the nature of your visit is not for pleasure," Ophanimon started, and then hesitated as if unsure how to continue.

"We have some new enemy – unfortunately, we know only a very little about him, save for the fact that he is extremely powerful...and that he strips Digimon of their core data and simply sends out the shells to wreak as much destruction as possible before they are deleted. Even then, there is no Digi-egg to go to the Village of Beginnings so that the Digimon may return, but he is instead lost forever to the Digital World," Seraphimon continued. Izumi gasped in horror while a look of righteous indignation crossed Takuya's face, shock and anger reflected in everyone's expression. Finally Kouji ventured a question of the three.

"So why haven't you gone out and taken care of him? I mean, you're supposed to be pretty powerful when not facing those who are of the same rank to you," a subtle reminder of Cherubimon's corruption. However, the answer he received was not one that any of them expected.

"We can't. We can't defeat him, we can't slow him down, we can't even leave the castle!" Cherubimon's cry of frustration rang throughout the room and shocked the Warriors into silence once more. They couldn't even leave the castle...?

"He's established some sort of barrier around here that prevents us from leaving, though it doesn't do anything to any other Digimon around here – just the three of us." Ophanimon's voice was mournful, and her shoulders slumped.

"So that's why you called us here..." Kouichi said slowly, his eyes scanning across the circle of defeated-looking Digimon.

"Because you can't take care of them yourself," finished Kouji, finishing the statement his brother had started.

"Indeed, though we were loath to call you at first. Not," said Seraphimon, holding up a hand in a motion for quiet, "Not because we do not think you can handle it, but because we did not want to burden you with such a difficult task."

"Gee, that's nice," commented Takuya sarcastically, and then he eyed the male Angel. "So, why are we here _now_?"

"Because of a few reasons – one of them is your fellow Legendary Warriors. The four who you fought before were captured by our enemy – they lost their Digital Cores, but they managed to send out their Spirits so that they would not be held captive by their torturer. As we did with you we sent out a call to see if four children could come and be host to the new Spirits – we did indeed gain four new Legendary Warriors, for the Spirits changed to new forms without the previous mindsets that had held them in place before." Ophanimon's quiet explanation shocked the six into silence once more, and they could only stare mutely at her for a long moment.

"They were doing very well, and each had managed to find their human Spirit, when our enemy struck – he caught each one within their Digimon form and froze them that way, blocking all their memory of the human world away from them and sending his dark minions after them to destroy them." Kouichi's soft gasp of realization echoed in the room – much the same had happened to him when he'd first come to the Digital World via the far less common route.

"They don't trust anyone now – they've scattered all over the Digital World in attempts to hide from their hunters, and any Digimon that approaches them is attacked on principal," Sorcerermon suddenly added his first contribution to the conversation. He winced slightly and rubbed at his arm, and it was apparent that he'd had first-hand experience with this.

"And that is why we have called you – because four Legendary Warriors are not enough to defeat this evil one, and because you are the only ones who are able to wake your fellow Warriors out of the spell they've fallen into." There; that was it; the entire situation laid out for them like it was on a checkerboard. And it didn't look like a single piece was placed in their favor.

-tbc-

Nall: Well, the Chosen Children are off to a bit of a rocky start – yeah, they get to come back to the Digital World, but it looks like they've got a whole new crisis on their hands. What's going to happen to them next? I guess we're just going to have to find out, huh?

[Offstage]

Nall: Along with the cheesy commentary at the end, I also beg for plot reviews. I'd get down on my knees to beg, but I'd look pretty silly – seven foot tall Angel/Kitsune hybrids don't exactly look dignified while trying to beg. So...::pops into Chibi form and gives all readers the big, cute, sad eyes:: Please review? Though the author will probably continue writing even if she feels everyone hates her fic, it makes her feel less alone in the world.

Aiko: ::snatches up Chibi Nall and huggles him:: Not to mention that if you review, I'd be ever-so-grateful if you'd include some comments and critiques on not only the story, but my writing style and things I could do to improve it. I wanna get better _now_, so that when I go to become a published author, people will read my works! ::beams and waves::


	2. Moiraemon, Warrior of Earth!

**Title: Return to the Frontier**

Author: AikoNamika

Warnings: Original Characters (attempts not to make them Mary Sues/Gary Stus, but they're still original), language, occasional violence, an author who's often just making things up as she goes along.

Pairings: None at the moment, but knowing me...anything is possible! (That includes shounen-ai, shoujo-ai, and het – more detailed warnings will become available as I figure it out.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon: Frontier, or any of its related merchandise. They belong to rich people in big offices, while I'm just a girl with personality problems. However, all original characters, original Digimon, and the plot line belong to me, and there will be severe consequences if I see anyone stealing!

Note: I'm working with a combination of the English anime and what information I can glean off of websites – if something seems completely screwed up, well then you know why.

Additional Note: The little commentary-thingies at the end of the "episodes" will be done by my muse/plot-bunny wrangler, Nall. Just so you know who the heck he is. ::nods::

To my reviewers, whom I love greatly and shall adore unto the ends of the earth, I give you cookies, candy, and assorted sugary things! Oh, and responses:

**Fallen Angel Of Oblivion** – Thank you for reviewing! ::squeals and glomps you:: About the confusing of cultures: I've only seen the English series, but I like the Japanese names better. If you could refer me to a site that has the Japanese attacks with the English equivalents, I'll love you for ever and always. ::cute look::

**Dragons star** – Wow, I can't believe you didn't see much to critique! I saw a ton...but then again, I'm the author. ::sweatdrops:: Thank you for reviewing! ::huggles you:: I'm glad you think my fic is fairly unique – I've read through a lot in this section, and I wanted to try and be different from all the others I've seen!

**Dragi** – Thanks! I'm glad you like it! ::snuggles:: And here's the next chapter already, hm? I'm trying to have one chapter written before I post the previous one, that way I'll always have something in progress. I hope this meets your expectations!

**Digi-fan** - Wow, four reviews in less than a day! You have no idea how happy this makes me...::sniffles dramatically and wipes away an imaginary tear:: Thank you so much! Oh, and thanks for the offer, but I've already got my OCs planned out – I worked hard on them, because I don't want to make any of them big stereotypes, and I didn't want them to clash with the existing Chosen Children...well, not in ways that I don't want them to. ::smirks::

**HotShot14** – I'm glad you're interested! I hope I continue to keep your attention!

**Bluesakuramon** – Well, I'm pretty sure that, as Kouji and Kouichi grew closer, their little twin-bond thing that I always envision happening would cause them to learn a _lot_ of how the other thinks – and eventually, they'd both be thinking the same way. Or I'm just insane. And as for the pairings...::shrugs and grins:: I'm not going to be doing anything more than subtle hints in the main story, though there will be a few side-stories that people can choose to read or skip if they wish it. So then if someone doesn't like a specific pairing, they don't have to read it!

Nall: Last episode our heroes had to deal with getting called back to the Digital World again, but it wasn't for pleasure – some sort of mysterious bad guy is out to destroy the Digital World again, and not only do they have to deal with _him_, they've got to free four other Chosen Children who were trapped in their Digimon forms! And with all this going on, none of the three Great Angels can be of any help, because they're all trapped within their castle. Looks like it's going to be a long haul from here!

**Chapter 2: Moiraemon, Warrior of Earth!**

In the end the only feasible option was to split up and head out to take on each of the four other Legendary Warriors as soon as possible – they had to free them quickly, and it would go faster if the whole entire group didn't have to travel around as a cluster.

Takuya headed Northeast toward the stony wastelands there, as that was the last reported sighting of the Warrior of Earth. He didn't know what the other Digimon's name was, and Ophanimon had declined to tell him though she undoubtedly knew it. He knew that he'd recognize the other Warrior, though – for one thing, his D-Tector would signal him, something that Ophanimon had programmed into them this time. For another thing, Legendary Warriors were often fairly hard to miss...

A Trailmon obliged him by carrying him as far as it could, and he spent a large part of his journey contemplating the problems at hand; who could this mysterious enemy be? How had he managed to trap the four new children in their Digimon forms? For that matter, what prevented _him_ from getting trapped in his Digimon form?

'_And just how am I supposed to free this guy from his Digimon self?'_ That last one was the one he spent the most time on, especially considering the fact that he couldn't exactly do anything about the other questions. _'Should I just treat it like Kouichi? Go and attack until I can scan his Spirit and get him back to human form? Or should I try and talk it out, or what?!'_ Of course a large part of the answer would depend upon the response of the Earth Warrior's reaction to _him_. If he was welcomed warmly, things shouldn't go too badly; but if he was attacked off the bat (as Grumblemon had been prone to do) then he'd have a bit more trouble...

"Woo woo! Last stop, Mountain Terminal! All ashore who's going ashore!" The voice of the Trailmon broke his concentration, and he looked up to find that he had indeed reached the furthest point that outside help could bring him to. He got out, and turned to look back at the train Digimon .

"Hey, thanks for the ride, y'know?" He grinned and adjusted his goggles absently, smiling at the familiar feeling of his gloves, the tan leather supremely comfortable. He'd worn a pair of soft denim jeans along with a red t-shirt, a leather vest and gloves, and a pair of beat-up sneakers that were once white and now were dirt-gray/brown. To top the entire ensemble off, he wore his old hat and goggles, having pulled them from his bag that morning to complete the feeling of being _back_.

"It's no problem for one of you! You're a pretty good passenger, not like some guys who are all, 'Can't you go faster? Why is this so bumpy! I thought this was a _First-Class_ Trailmon!', whine, whine, whine. You were quiet and ya didn't bother me at all – plus, you're gonna be helping to save the Digital World again!" The Trailmon was obviously eager to talk a bit, and Takuya reflected that no one probably talked to the underappreciated Digimon too often. "I want to be able to do my routes without worrying that I'll lose my Core – I lost a good friend to that creep. It was...hard; he was a fantastic worker, one of the most efficient Trailmon you'd ever seen." The big machine sighed heavily, and then eyed the brunette for a moment. "Get that guy for me, willya?"

Takuya blinked in surprise, and then smiled comfortingly. "Of course; I promise."

"Thanks," the nameless Trailmon replied, and then backed down the tracks to where he could turn around and head back to his regular travels. The brown-eyed boy turned so that he looked up at the mountains, and then sighed and hiked his backpack further up on his shoulders.

"I guess I better get walking."

It was a beautiful day out; the sun was shining, a lone Biyomon were singing, and it was surprisingly lovely in the mountains. He'd thought it would have been barren and lifeless, just miles and miles of rock stretching away as far as the eye can see. Yes, there was plenty of rock, but there was also sections of grass where there was enough dirt to grow, and moss clung to every available surface, providing the land with a covering of green. Small clusters of tiny blue flowers grew in some spots, and when he bent to look closely at one patch, it reminded him a great deal of the forget-me-nots he'd seen a few times before.

The air was dry but warm, the sun providing clear light and heating the day to a comfortable temperature. It smelled clean and fresh, neither of which be could really gained in Japan unless you went a very long way away from the cities. He smiled and watched some sort of little brown rodent Digimon scurry across the path in front of him, carrying a mouth full of grass stuffed in his cheeks and spilling out as well. It paused, sniffed at him, and then took off again.

"It's so great to be back in the Digital World, even if some creep is harassing everyone – at least I get to see this place again! I've missed it," Takuya said out loud, his voice sounding slightly out of place in the quiet sanctuary of the mountains. He fell silent once again and just enjoyed the peaceful scenery.

Takuya was really beginning to wish that he'd asked to go after a different Warrior – his feet were killing him, and it seemed that his backpack gained an extra pound with every step he took. Finally he found a convenient rock and dropped down onto it with a groan, letting his bag fall from his shoulders and using it as a back rest.

It was really, really nice to get off his feet, and as he glanced at the sun, trying to gauge how long it would be until sunset – not too long, as far as he could tell. He'd been traveling all day, first on the Trailmon and then on his own two feet, and he figured that he should probably start looking for somewhere to stay the night. Fortunately for him, he didn't need to look for food at all, because some helpful Digimon in the castle had provided him with plenty of supplies (both cooked and non-cooked) that should allow him to last our here for about a week. After that, he was on his own – but he really hoped that he wouldn't be out here long enough to come even close to running out of food.

With a resigned sigh he stood again, pulling his backpack back on over his shoulders, smiling slightly as he realized an unexpected side-effect of his pause – the slight breeze that was being funneled between all of the mountains had cooled the sweat on his back and on his bag, and so it was like having a cool cloth applied to his skin. The rest, though short, had done him quite a lot of good, and he hiked on in much better spirits, scanning his surroundings for a convenient (and safe) cave to spend the night in.

It wasn't too long before he found a viable option, though getting to the actual mouth of the cave would require a bit of a climb. Takuya scrambled up the rocks, occasionally pausing so that he could catch his balance, the unwieldy weight on his back throwing his balance off a bit. However, when he stepped into the cave, he knew he'd found the place where he wanted to stay the night – it wasn't too open, but large enough that he could comfortably have a campfire and stay warm the whole night through. Indeed, a spot on the stone that had been scorched black by firestone indicated that he wouldn't be the only one using this as a way-station.

Soon enough he had a cheerful little blaze going, a meat-apple toasting on a stick above the dancing flames. It cooked quickly, proving to be flavored like pork chops when he bit into it.

It was when he'd just started eating that the trouble began. The ground rumbled underneath him, and he leapt to his feet, looking around in worry as small stones tumbled from the roof of the cavern. He snatched his back and lunged out of the cave, tumbling down the small incline to the path below, watching in shock as the cave collapsed on itself, burying his fire and what could have been him in piles of rock.

"Okay...I think that might have been a hint." Takuya stared, wide-eyed, and then his eyes narrowed as he realized what that probably meant. He lifted his head and glared up the cliff toward the top, even though he knew that the Earth Warrior was almost definitely here. "Hey, you! I know you're here! Come out and face me!"

"Granite Barrage!" It wasn't just the sudden attack from behind him that startled him – it was the fact that the voice that said it was female. He yelled in surprise and ran to the side, managing to get out of the way of the deadly stones that hurtled out at him from the darkness.

"Well, there goes any chance of talking this out peacefully," he muttered to himself, and then pulled out his D-Tector, slashing it across the ring of Digicode that appeared around his hand. "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" For a moment he felt like he was surrounded by flames but not burnt, and then he felt his Digimon side come to the front.

"Agnimon!" The blond Digimon glared toward his target, yelling out at her again. "Come on, face me! Or are you too afraid?" He sneered the last word at her, and a growl of anger proved that his accusation had hit the mark. Then she stepped forward into the light of the moonlight, the silver glow rendering her in shades of gray; armor encased her almost entirely, smooth stone-like armor like it had been made of river rocks. Her helm had a long plume of hair – her hair? – trailing down her back, and the only part of her that wasn't covered by the armor was her eyes and the skin around them. He couldn't tell the color in this uncertain light, but he could see the glare she wore pretty clearly.

"Don't you _ever_ call me afraid, you little rat," she growled. "I'm not afraid of anything, much less a stupid human like you, even if you _can_ turn into a Digimon!" She drew what he hadn't seen before, a long broadsword with a rather deadly-looking edge. "Boulder Slice!" A blaze of energy emerged from the blade of the sword as she slashed it downward, the edge-on attack coming straight for him. Once more Agnimon managed to dodge, leaping aside and landing on the ground far to the right of his previous position. A loud explosion had him looking toward where he had been before as the attack hit and broke a huge stone in half and cleaving a huge gash in the side of the cliff.

"Geeze, what did I do to piss you off _that_ much?" He commented incredulously. Then his eyes narrowed as he looked back at the other Warrior, and he stepped forward boldly. "Who are you, and why did you try to kill me?" This probably wouldn't work too well, but he had to try.

"I'm Moiraemon and I'm gonna kill you before you even get a chance at me! I'm not going to let you attack me like all the others have!" She declared, bringing her sword around once more.

'_Others?'_ Agnimon thought incredulously. _'What others?'_ Then he was dodging again as she let out another "Boulder Slice!" He leapt and spun and dodged all around the clearing, not wanting to attack her unless he had to (though it was looking more and more likely that he would) when he tripped over a stone that had been hidden in shadow.

"Damn it, I can't take this anymore! It's too dark!" He stood and moved away from Moiraemon's most recent attack, and brought his fists together in front of him, little flames springing to life above his wrist-guards.

"Pyro Darts!" The small bits of flame flashed out to different areas around the clearing they'd been battling in, catching hold of the few burnable things and setting them ablaze – it illuminated the two of them in lurid colors, but it gave Agnimon a much better ability to see.

"Okay, let's try this again. Moiraemon, I don't want to hurt you! I just want to help you!" He was getting annoyed and rather worried; the longer she spent battling the deeper she would get into her Digimon self – he knew that, and he knew that he was starting to get slightly tired, too.

"You lie!" She shrieked, and then held her hand palm-out at him. "Granite Barrage!" Once more stones were hurtling at him – but there weren't nearly as many this time, nor were they going anywhere close to their previous speed. She was getting just as tired as he was, if not more.

"I'm not lying, I promise! You're human, you've got a human heart, and you're from my world, the human world! Remember it; remember that you're trapped in your Digimon form!" He moved away again, leaping up and then landing behind her, bringing his arms forward and trapping her in a lock. "Listen to me: you have to remember who you are, you can't let the guy who trapped you like this win!" She seemed to be relaxing a bit, and he thought that he'd convinced her of the truth. "Don't you remember?"

"No," she said softly. "I do not 'remember', and I won't; because you're _lying_!" She yelled the last word and then trapped his arms, flinging him over her head and into a rock a ways away. He looked at Moiraemon from his upside-down position, expecting to see her readying her blade to finish him off. To his surprise, she was backing off, shaking her head and murmuring, "You lie. You must be lying. It's not true, it's not..."

He let himself fall to the ground, lifting his upper body up a ways as soon as he was prone. "I'm not lying, I promise! Moiraemon, we need your help, you have to remember who you are!"

"NO!" With that, the Warrior of Earth turned, escaping into the night and running from the truth that she didn't want to admit.

With a swirling of Digicode, an exhausted and bruised Takuya sat up the rest of the way, staring off into the night after Moiraemon. "But it _is_ true..."

A long moment passed, and then Takuya pulled himself the rest of the way to his feet, heading over to where his fallen backpack lay in a pile away from the main battle zone. He lifted it, pulling it over one shoulder with a wince, and then made his way toward the nearest fire that he'd started, gathering bits and pieces of things to help it burn – the others were already starting to dye out.

"Well, since I'm here I might as well try to get some food and then sleep," he commented to himself, then speared a meat apple on a stick and began to toast it.

Far above the now-sleeping Flame Warrior, a troubled pair of eyes looked down, watching him in confusion. Then they turned to the sky and the three moons, Moiraemon searching her memory frantically for any recollection of being human. But it was so hard, because of that dark wall that blocked anything from before a couple weeks ago off. She couldn't remember anything...

'_Could it be true...?'_

-tbc-

Nall: Ouch. Looks like Takuya's got a bit more on his hands than he was anticipating, huh? At least he's gotten Moiraemon to start thinking about what he was saying instead of blindly denying it. Maybe he'll have a better chance of convincing her the next time he sees her!

[Offstage]

Nall: Once again I ask for reviews – things you like, things you hate, even if you only want to comment to tell us that you like chocolate chip cookies. The authoress just wants to know that someone reads her stuff, and she can get pretty pitiful when she wants to...


	3. Let's Rock and Roll!

**Title: Return to the Frontier**

Author: AikoNamika

Warnings: Original Characters (attempts not to make them Mary Sues/Gary Stus, but they're still original), language, occasional violence, an author who's often just making things up as she goes along.

Pairings: None at the moment, and if any it will probably just be vaguely hinted.

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon: Frontier, or any of its related merchandise. They belong to rich people in big offices, while I'm just a girl with personality problems. However, all original characters, original Digimon, and the plot line belong to me, and there will be severe consequences if I see anyone stealing!

Note: I'm working with a combination of the English anime and what information I can glean off of websites – if something seems completely screwed up, well then you know why.

Additional Note: The little commentary-thingies at the end of the "episodes" will be done by my muse/plot-bunny wrangler, Nall. Just so you know who the heck he is. ::nods::

Another Additional Note: Review responses are at the end.

Nall: Well, the gang's split up to go look for the new Legendary Warriors, and lucky Takuya got to go to the mountains and deal with Moiraemon, the Warrior of Earth. She put him down pretty quickly, but he's at least gotten her to listen to what he said about her being human. Before he could do anything else, though, she knocked him into a rock and took off. Better luck next time!

**Chapter 3: Let's Rock and Roll!  
**

Takuya woke up early, the faint morning light greeting him as he opened his eyes and slowly levered himself into a sitting position. He grinned as he realized that he didn't hurt nearly as much as he should – being half Digimon did have its advantages, he reflected. He healed a lot faster than in human form, and the shift from Digimon to human or vice-versa seemed to take care of a lot of wounds.

"Okay – so last night I _found_ the Warrior of Earth. Then I proceeded to try and convince said Warrior that she was human." He paused for a second, and then his brow furrowed. "I wonder why Moiraemon was female. I mean, Grumblemon wasn't...Maybe it has to do with the Spirits changing to reflect their new bearers? Or something like that..." He shrugged. "Well, getting thrown into a rock wasn't too fun, but at least I got it through her head, or at least _partially_ through her head. I just hope I don't have to do too much more to finally get her back to human."

Takuya finally stood up the rest of the way, stretching out and looking around the clearing. The damage from last night was a lot more obvious in the morning light – the smashes and slices from Moiraemon, and the scorch marks from his Salamander Break; he winced a bit at destroying that beauty, and then sighed heavily. He hadn't come to the Digital World to destroy it even more – he'd come here to help keep it from succumbing to the darkness that had overtaken it this once more, so that he would never _have_ to see it in the falling-apart state that it had been in when he'd first traveled here. It had been terrible to watch the beautiful place slowly disappear last time – he'd be damned if he let that happen again!

"Of course, with my luck it'll take a month to actually track her down, then we'll go through another battle like that and then she'll disappear again – and so on and so forth. Oh well - I guess I'd better start looking for her again," he muttered, and then picked up his backpack, scuffing dirt over his campfire and starting down the trail once more. He pulled out the meat apple he'd saved for himself last night, munching on it a bit as he walked and thought. Fortunately, chicken didn't taste too bad when cold.

For some reason the mountains didn't seem quite as beautiful today – the air was colder and had a chill to it, a hint of darkness that had been absent from the warmth of yesterday. There weren't any other Digimon anymore, not even the few he'd seen the previous day, and the all-encompassing silence unnerved him in a way he hadn't anticipated at all. Idly he wondered if the change in his surroundings might reflect the battle that had happened last night – Moiraemon was a Warrior of Earth, maybe the mountains themselves (her element of earth) were reflection her mood. Maybe he'd gotten through to her last night, at least partially.

"I hope so. I also hope she got a good look at the guy who trapped her like that – if we know what he looks like, this search could go a lot faster," he mumbled to himself. Takuya didn't want to have to spend forever trying to convince Moiraemon that she was who he said she was, and for a moment a memory ran through his mind – Beowolfmon and Duskmon battling it out, neither willing to concede to the other, Kouji trying to convince the other to become a human again as Kouichi snarled his hatred of his own twin brother. That battle had shook him far more than he'd expected it to, the knowledge that brother was fighting brother like in the American Civil War so long ago...but it was worse than even that, because both fighters were, at heart, only kids. They'd been eleven years old then, and they'd faced things that many adults could never have survived, and come through it all fairly intact – heck even Kouichi managed to wake up and be with his brother. He shook the melancholy thoughts out of his head and hoped to high heavens that Moiraemon wasn't somehow secretly his sister or anything weird like that, because that would have just been too much to stand...

Takuya was prepared for a long walk with several hours spent looking in every nook and cranny for the other Legendary Warrior. He _wasn't_ prepared for her to suddenly appear right in front of him on the path, her eyes – which he could now see were pale gray – glaring at him fiercely from behind her helm.

"What did you do to me?" Moiraemon's harsh question startled Takuya, and he took a step back, dropping his bag to the ground to keep it out of his way.

"What do you mean by that?! The only time I even _touched_ you last night was to put you into a hold, and then you threw me into a rock!" The accusation had put him on the defensive, and when he was on the defensive, he didn't make the smartest decisions too often.

"You cast some sort of spell! Played with my mind! Now I doubt everything around me and it's _all your FAULT!_" Her voice rose into a shriek, and he started, then yelled and tumbled backward away from her blade as she slashed at him. Takuya scrambled away again, yanking out his D-Tector as fast as he could.

"EXECUTE! SPIRIT EVOLUTION!" He was surrounded for a moment by Digicode and then with a shout, "Agnimon!" the Flame Warrior appeared. With barely a second to spare, he lifted his arms, the metal armor blocking the blow, allowing him to keep himself from being cleaved in half. "Look, I don't want to hurt you!"

"Then why did you tell me those lies?!" She leapt back, extending a hand outwards. "Granite Barrage!" Stones were flung at him, and Agnimon did his best to dodge them all, though several struck true. However, those stones also loosed the tight reign he'd held on his temper. He was sick and tired of simply playing keep away with this Digimon, and he wanted her to know that he wasn't just your ordinary enemy!

"That's it! Burning Salamander!!!" He spun about in place, flames encircling him as he then leapt forward, slamming a kick towards her, the flames blasting her as well.

"Arg! You little...Boulder Slice!" He leapt aside, and the battle commenced. Neither was holding back, but as Takuya had gotten a good night's sleep and food, he had a bit of advantage over Moiraemon, who had spent the entire night contemplating the words which he had told her, trying her damnest to figure out if he had been lying, wondering if he could have been telling the truth with the blankness of her memories to prove him right. _'But it's a lie, I know it is! Wouldn't I remember if I had been human? I mean...I would, wouldn't I?'_

The entire night she'd been unable to sleep, wracked with doubts and fears and rages – she'd wanted to find the bloody human who had caused this and rip him to shreds, but she couldn't push herself out of the hiding place she'd claimed as her own that evening. No matter how she'd raged and sworn to kill him in her mind, some part of her cried out in protest, and that part of her was large enough to keep the rest from fulfilling that wish. So Moiraemon had been reduced to snarling at her own weakness while staring into the darkness through the entrance to her cave in fear, unable to go forward or to go back – unable to dismiss the claims entirely or prove their truth. She wished she knew what was real and what wasn't; the uncertainty was enough to drive her crazy!

Her distraction, as she became lost in her thoughts, was her undoing and Agnimon connected fully, sending her backward into the rocks behind her. She groaned in pain, her head spinning as she tried to sit up, and found she had no energy left. If she had been a normal Digimon, she would have been on the edge of devolving to her previous level, she knew that, but somehow she knew that wouldn't happen – or at least not in the way that it happened to the others.

'_How could I be so weak right now? I should have been able to take him out easily!' _She was nearly wailing within her head, and she stared up at the approaching Digimon with as much anger as she could manage – she couldn't seem to manage to do anything else. _'It's like I was deliberately holding back...But why?!'_

It was then that Moiraemon took one last look at the black wall which blocked her memories – and saw a weakness. It was starting to crumble. Before her she could see a black bubble flickering in and out of sight, and the weaker she became the more she could see it.

Agnimon saw it too, and suddenly understanding dawned on his face. "That's it, Moiraemon. _That_ is what is keeping you trapped like this! Destroy it, you have to!" He wasn't sure if she'd listen, considering the fact that he'd been fighting her just a few seconds ago. Darkness flickered all around her, partially seen for a while and becoming far more defined as the seconds passed. Around the edges he could catch glimpses of fractal codes as her own body tried to save her by taking her down to a lower energy level, though it was having problems because of the barrier.

He need not have worried about her willpower – she fought against the barrier, desperately trying to pierce it and free herself, find out the truth behind all of this. Her energy drained away faster and faster, and it began to get harder – then her sheer stubborn will kicked in. She would _not_ be defeated by some black bubble! Never! With a shout she pointed her clasped hands at it – and pointed her mind toward that weakness in her mental wall that should allow it to be destroyed completely - and there was something in her grip that she didn't remember having before. Moiraemon wasn't afraid at all, because the 'something' emitted a friendly warmth that reassured her that it wasn't harmful, that it was there to _help_ her. A light emitted from it, piercing toward the barrier with a beam from the top of the...whatever in her hands, and she yelled out as she focused everything she had on making that light go _through_.

Agnimon stared as the Digimon pointed her hands toward the barrier, a D-Tector that he'd never seen in her hands with light blazing from the top of it like some sort of glowing lance. Without understanding why, he lifted his own D-Tector, and light sprang from the top to match hers. The two met, burning away the darkness as they connected as a symbol appeared on both screens for just a moment – Ophanimon's symbol, the one that had brought all of them to the Digital World in the first place – and he cried out as a flash of light blinded him. When the glow faded to bearable levels and he could see once more, a girl floated in the light, her features indistinct; directly in front of her a Spirit floated, a D-Tector held loosely in her left hand. She opened dark eyes, and then the Spirit receded into the D-Tector as she fell forward onto the ground.

"Ouch..."

---

In three other parts of the Digital World the other five Legendary Warriors searched for their targets, each hoping that they'd be able to find them and save them from themselves. Izumi was flying over the range of islands where she'd found her Beast Spirit in Shutumon's form; Junpei and Tomoki foraged through a thick forest fruitlessly, looking behind every nook and cranny with no luck at all; Kouji and Kouichi were still on a Trailmon, the twins watching the passing scenery with matching dark eyes as they tried to propel themselves faster, further along the track so that they could find their target and get back to save the Digital World as soon as possible.

And somewhere in the darkness around the DigiWorld, a creature unseen by any living eye snarled in rage at its loss of the Warrior of Earth and the appearance of these more experienced fighters.

"_I shall not make the same mistakes that fool Lucemon made..."_

-tbc-

Nall: Geeze – what a load for a guy to bear. Now that Moiraemon is back to her human form, will she be able to remember who she was before? Even more, who _is_ she? Takuya's gonna have a lot of fun with this one... Of course, once everyone's gotten back to the Great Angels, they're gonna have to deal with whoever _that_ guy was...

::Offstage::

Nall: Sorry about the long wait, folks – there was a little trouble with the pacing of this chapter, and Aiko re-wrote it about fifteen times before she finally decided to split it into two chapters. If this one seems a little short, it's probably because a majority of the original text went into the next chapter – the timing was off if she ended it anywhere else (and it took her a few tries to find were to end, too).

Aiko: As my dearest muse said, I sincerely apologize for my long absence – I hope the gap between this chapter and the next is a _lot_ shorter (and it should be, seeing as the next chapter is almost complete...). School's going to be interfering with my writing time a lot, but I'll do my best to get this story written in a timely fashion!

Nall: On that note, Aiko works best when she knows that people like her work – yes, that was a very unsubtle hint to review! Both of us love hearing from those who read this fic, even if it is just a "good fic" or even a "u suck." Okay, we don't really like the second type, but if you want to offer us _constructive_ criticism, we'll love you forever and give you sugar. Well...Aiko will, at least. ::nods and ducks as the authoress tries to hit him:: On that note, I think I'll take this chance to get out of here...

**Bluesakuramon** – Yep, Moiraemon and all the rest of the four new characters and their Digimon are mine and mine alone. I admit that I'm borrowing a lot of names from mythology (the Moirae were also known as the Three Furies), but the concepts of their appearances are all from my mind. And nope...Moiraemon is female. You'll just have to wait to see the rest, though...

**Dragons star** – I hope the pacing in this chapter works out for you...I was having a lot of trouble with it, and I still don't like how it turned out. But I didn't want to just leave it hanging either, so I'll see what I can do to revise it eventually. After I finish the story, that is... I hope I don't reveal the answers to all your questions _too_ soon! Where would be the fun of that, after all?

**Dragi** – I'm glad you liked it! Hope this chapter met your expectations too!

**Senagirl** – I'm really pleased with the way the twins are turning out. However, if you're looking for them to "go after" someone in the romantic way, you're probably going to be disappointed. If you're looking for them to "go after" someone as in who they're searching for...Then you'll just have to find out, won't you? ::evil grin:: The same concept applies to the genders of the other three Legendary Warriors – wait and see!

**Fallen Angel of Oblivion** – YAY! Thank you, I love you! ::offers you massive quantities of sugar:: The sites are a _lot_ of help! And no, this isn't a rewrite of anything – it's new for me, both in the fact that it's Digimon fanfiction, and the plot itself. Do you have any idea what the original one was? If so, could you give me the link so I'm not plagiarizing anyone? Thank you!!! By the way...Did I get the right equivalent attacks for Agnimon right? I wasn't too sure, but I did the best I could...

**Scarred Dragonia** – Okay! ::gives you chocolate chip cookies:: Sorry about taking so long to update, though! And you're adding my fic to your Favorite stories list?! :squeals and glomps you insanely while dancing around and yelling like a cat with its tail stepped on::

**fireclaw** – Eee! ::hugs fireclaw:: So cool to see you reading my fics! While I know I can write the insanely complicated rpg posts, they're not exactly conducive to casual readers – you need to have a _huge_ vocabulary to understand most of the words I use in them, plus it takes me a good while to get each post written, even though there's really not all that much happening in them. My characters tend to be quite taciturn. Except for Kaji and Folie, of course...::gryn:: Thank you for offering to be my beta! I don't think I need to much help on this one, though some advice and constructive criticism is always welcomed – but I've got an idea for a fic that takes place mostly in the middle of the 2 universe that involves two of the 4 characters, but I'll talk to you more about that on AIM...


	4. Finding Out About You

**Title: Return to the Frontier**

Author: AikoNamika

Warnings: Original Characters (attempts not to make them Mary Sues/Gary Stus, but they're still original), language, occasional violence, an author who's often just making things up as she goes along.

Pairings: None at the moment, but knowing me...anything is possible! (That includes shounen-ai, shoujo-ai, and het – more detailed warnings will become available as I figure it out.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon: Frontier, or any of its related merchandise. They belong to rich people in big offices, while I'm just a girl with personality problems. However, all original characters, original Digimon, and the plot line belong to me, and there will be severe consequences if I see anyone stealing!

Note: I'm working with a combination of the English anime and what information I can glean off of websites – if something seems completely screwed up, well then you know why.

Additional Note: The little commentary-thingies at the end of the "episodes" will be done by my muse/plot-bunny wrangler, Nall. Just so you know who the heck he is. ::nods::

Nall: Takuya was fighting Moiraemon and things didn't seem to be going too well, until a black shield suddenly appeared around Moiraemon, and he realized that that was what was keeping her from returning to her human self. With an effort on both his part and hers, the two Digimon managed to return Moiraemon to her human self – now he's just got to deal with the _human_ half of the Warrior of Earth...

**Chapter 4: Finding Out About You  
**

"Ouch..." The girl's voice was higher than that of her Spirit's, as was often normal for what they'd seen before. Her hair was bright red, and tied into a ton of braids that went only a little past her shoulders. As she levered herself up onto her knees, Agnimon devolved, and Takuya stepped forward, offering a hand to the black-eyed girl.

"Well, you did it – you freed yourself," he said quietly. Then he grinned as she looked blearily at his hand and then at him, and then at his hand once more as if trying to remember what it was there for. Shakily she shook her head, refusing his offer of help.

"I think that, for now, I'm safer here on the ground." She offered him a wan grin, and then groaned loudly, grasping her head. "Damn, what a headache – I can't believe I couldn't remember who I was; that I was _human_, for Christ's sake!" The girl who had neglected to introduce herself so far moaned.

"Well, you were trapped by a very powerful entity, or at least that's what Ophanimon said," Takuya offered. She looked up at him in surprise.

"You know Ophanimon?"

"Yeah, I met her about three years ago - my friends and I were summoned to return Cherubimon back to good, and then we had to deal with Lucemon," Takuya offered. Then he realized that she still didn't have a clue who he was. "Anyway, I'm Takuya Kanbara, Warrior of Flame."

"Chisato Ichiyusai, Warrior of Earth," she returned, and then continued on her previous line of questioning. "If you guys were here before, why were we summoned?"

"Hold on – I think you might be a bit more comfortable if we get some food into you first," he commented, walking over to where he'd dropped his bag and hauling it over to where Chisato sat. He dropped to the ground across from her, digging through his bag and then offering her one of Junpei's ubiquitous chocolate bars. She snatched it out of his hands with a hungry look in her eyes, downing it within seconds, a smile of pleasure spreading across her lips as soon as she finished.

"Thanks – I think I needed that. More than that, I haven't had chocolate since I've gotten here," the red-head confessed.

"How long have you been here? Do you remember?" Takuya was curious – he remembered the fact that his own trip had taken several weeks in the Digital World, but it had taken less than an hour in the Real World.

"I dunno – a month or two, maybe?" She didn't sound too sure of herself.

"Well, when did you leave?" She told him the date. He blinked, and stared.

"I knew the time difference was big, but I didn't think it was _that_ big," he muttered, and then looked up and met her eyes. "You left the day before we did – and we got here yesterday."

Chisato snorted at him, not believing him at first. "No way – I _know_ I've been gone for at least a month. There's no way that I've only been gone a day!" He nodded though, and she stared in shock.

"When I was here last, we were only here for a couple of weeks, maybe less – when we got back, less than an hour had passed."

"Okay, you've mentioned that you've been here before – what happened?" Chisato's question prompted Takuya to start telling the tale of his own journey through the Digital World – meeting each other, discovering their Spirits, fighting the enemy Legendary Warriors and purifying their Spirits, discovering Kouichi, beating Cherubimon, and then the final desperate battle against Lucemon – including nearly losing Kouichi when they discovered that only his spirit was in the Digital World, not his body.

"...and when we got back to the Real World, Kouji went to go and find Kouichi – and it looked like he was in a coma when we got to the hospital, and he wasn't breathing, and then our Spirits went and gave the last of their energy in the Real World to heal Kouichi and Kouji got him to wake up." Takuya pulled a bottle of water out of the small pile of food that had grown in front of them as he emptied his bag, drinking deeply to ease the dryness that had grown in his throat from talking so much. He stayed quiet, letting Chisato think about his story in silence. Eventually she laughed ruefully, shaking her head slightly.

"You make all that we did sound like we weren't doing anything," she explained. "I mean, we'd barely found our Human Spirits before we got trapped in them." She started to get to her feet and then, as soon as she started to stand, she wobbled and fell to the ground again, a frown crossing her features. "Why am I so weak?" she growled, slamming her fist on the ground. That seemed to just make her angrier, for she barely raised a puff of dust with the strike. "Arg! I can't stand this!"

"Hey, calm down! You just spent a ton of time as a Digimon, plus two battles in less than two days – you're probably almost completely drained, even if you _did_ just have a ton to eat," Takuya said, holding his hands out in a placating gesture. She simply glared at him, and he grinned back.

"Well, even if I can't stand up for too long, we do need to get to the Trailmon Station – I need to find out what happened while I was trapped, and I need to make sure the others are alright!" Chisato said, this time using a rock to help herself to her feet. Takuya nodded, searching about the small corpse of trees near them to see if he could find a stick that could double as a walking staff. Once he found one, he offered it to his erstwhile companion, who accepted it with a grudging grace.

"Well then – let's start walking!" Takuya shoved everything back into his backpack, shouldering it and turning to head back down the way he'd come. The entire journey had taken a lot less time than he thought it would have, but he wasn't complaining in the least. At least he didn't have to spend weeks wandering around in the mountains, slowly running out of food or ideas.

And with that, the two started their return to the Forest Terminal and Seraphimon's castle.

---

It had been fairly uneventful so far, and Takuya and Chisato had talked quietly for most of the way, though they often had to pause for the red-head to catch her breath. However, the longer they walked (and snacked) the faster she began to regain her energy. It was a pretty good thing, because that meant they could pick up the pace and possibly get back to the Trailmon that much faster, though Takuya knew that they'd have to spend at least one night out here.

During one of their pauses, Chisato eventually got around to explaining how she'd been called to the Digital World, and Takuya nodded slightly to himself to hear the similarities between their stories.

"I was heading home and I got a text message on my phone asking me if I wanted to play a game. I said yes – it wasn't like I was just refuse to play a game, y'know?" She smirked challengingly at him. He'd discovered that there was very little she'd refuse to do, and he appreciated that, though he was a little worried that she didn't seem to actually take time to _think_ things through. "Anyway, I followed the directions and got on one of the trains – Trailmon, I mean – with a bunch of other kids. I guess most of the rest went home, because I was told there were three others who stayed, but there was more than three even on the Trailmon I took."

"So you haven't met the others?" Takuya interrupted, remembering the close bond that he'd found with his friends as they'd traveled through the Digital World.

She shook her head. "No – Ophanimon said that they had a better idea where the human Spirits were, so they sent us out to get them as soon as possible, because they wanted us able to defend the Digital World really fast." He nodded at that; it made sense. "Anyway, I got here and the Trailmon took me to the Crystal Castle to meet Ophanimon, and she explained what she could. Then I headed out to look, and got caught once I did found my Spirit, and you know the rest of the story." The red-head sighed in vexation. "I just wish I could have done more!"

"Hey, calm down! You were on your own in an unfamiliar world, and-" Chisato cut him off before he could finish.

"That doesn't matter! I still should have been able to defeat the bad guy, not just get trapped right away!" She glared at him, black eyes flashing furiously, and the brunette dropped the subject.

"Okay, okay..."

A long period of silence passed, with the two simply walking along side-by-side for the moment. Takuya was about to try and start the conversation up again when a rustling in the bushes distracted him. He glanced over to his right, away from Chisato, and then fell back with a yell of surprise as a Kuwagamon came crashing through, it's huge pincers aimed directly for them.

"Get down!" He yelled, grabbing Chisato's arm and yanking her to the ground as the insect-type Digimon buzzed overhead. It was strange – the creature was totally silent other than the buzzing of its wings, where he was used to Digimon such as this yelling and roaring as they attacked. The Kuwagamon turned back, its armored head fixating on them as the brunette reached into his pocket and pulled out his D-Tector, eyes shining fiercely.

"EXECUTE! SPIRIT EVOLUTION!" Flames and data surrounded him as his human self dropped away once more. "Agnimon!" The fire Digimon leapt forward, flames surrounding his hands as he attacked.

"Burning Salamander!" It seemed to have little effect, but the big bug did stumble to the side and away from its target. However, one hand came around at high speed to whack Agnimon, sending the blond Digimon flying away and into the side of the mountain, knocking the air out of him and disorienting him as the larger Digimon made to attack the downed fighter.

Chisato broke out of her frozen resolve, her dark eyes narrowing in anger as she too pulled out her D-Tector, the colors tan and dark reddish-brown instead of the black and red of Takuya's. "I don't think so! HEY BUG FACE, OVER HERE!"

As the attacking Digimon once more turned to face a new opponent, a ring of Digicode appeared around Chisato's left hand, and she lifted her D-Tector, slashing it down across the ring of data.

"EXECUTE! SPIRIT EVOLUTION!" Agnimon blearily watched her as she was surrounded by her Digimon data, wondering if it was different from his group's evolution – but it looked the same to him, and he was satisfied that there wasn't going to be some huge difference in power.

"Moiraemon!" With a shout the Earth Warrior exploded from her data, twirling her sword around and then bringing it to a "ready" position in front of her. The gray eyes narrowed behind her helm as she prepared herself to take the brunt of the attack on the blade of her sword. When the Kuwagamon slammed into her she slid back several feet before finding her footing and exerting pressure back. With a snarl, she pulled back a bit and then slashed at the larger Digimon, allowing power to ripple off the blade.

"Boulder Slice!" With a shriek the Kuwagamon fell back, one pincer gone entirely from its head, severed by Moiraemon's attack. She smirked fiercely behind her helm, and prepared to finish it off; before she could move, the beetle-Digimon turned and slashed with its remaining pincer at Agnimon, who was still pulling himself out of the mountain.

"Aack!" He shoved himself away in a leap, and then turned the leap into his attack, bringing his flaming self down onto his opponent's head even as Moiraemon attacked its midsection.

"Burning Salamander!"

"Boulder Slice!"

With a shriek the Kuwagamon reared back, and then disintegrated completely. However, unlike the Sneemon which had attacked the Trailmon on the way into the Digital World, there was no egg at all – instead a sphere of red light hovered where the heart of the Digimon would have been for a moment, and then it shot off into the air faster than the eye could follow.

"What was _that_?" Takuya asked as he devolved from Agnimon, glancing with confused eyes toward Chisato. She was eying the sky speculatively with her D-Tector in one hand, having returned to her human form as well (with a _lot_ less difficulty than the last time).

"I'm not too sure what they are – I saw a lot of them as a Digimon when I was fighting those who kept attacking me, and I think they've got something to do with whoever we're up against..."

"Well, whoever it is, I hope they don't try attacking us again anytime soon! I'm bushed!" Takuya yawned, and Chisato echoed him a moment later with a yawn of her own and a tired nod.

"Yeah...Got any more food?"

---

It wasn't too long after that they reached the Trailmon station and boarded the waiting Trailmon, who loudly and cheerfully welcomed them aboard with a broad grin. As it backed down the mountain with much "woo-woo!"-ing, the two travelers leaned back on the seat and let themselves drift off to sleep. They'd be back at the castle soon, and they'd be able to deal with this situation just a bit more easily once they had all ten Warriors together...

-tbc-

Nall: Phew! One down, three to go – will the rest of our heroes be able to find and deal with _their_ assignments with as much ease "ease" as Takuya? Or will they have less trouble...or more? Find out, in the next chapter of **Return to the Frontier!**

(Offstage)

Nall: Wow...Takuya's part is finally over. Now all Aiko has to do is figure out how the rest of the gang will fare. Anyone got any ideas? She's got a few, but she always welcomes reader input...I can't believe she got this out so fast, though! It was just bang, bang, bang, bang, and there was the chapter!

Aiko: That would be because I had four fifths of it written already when I decided to turn chapter three into two chapters.

Nall: ...right. I knew that. I'm the muse, after all!

Aiko: Uh-huh. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter – I have to tell you, the rest probably won't be coming out quite as fast, though I'm making no guarantees. I'm a High School Senior, so I don't have the most free time in all the world – plus NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is coming up, and I'm going to be devoting quite a lot of time to my novel! But I promise you I'll see what I can do, and I won't give up on this fic!

Nall: So please review, and tell us what you think!

Reviewer Responses: So many already! I have fans!! ::teary sniffle::

**Scarred Draconia** – Geeze...Now that I look at it, it _does_ look kinda weird, doesn't it? ::gryns:: Oh well, at least you figured it out. ::gives you Chocolate Drop Cookies::

**Bluesakuramon** – Heeeeeere's Chisato! I hope you like her – she's gonna be fun to write in the future, I think...And as for the others...Well, you'll just have to find out later, won't you? ::evil grin:: ::hands over Apple Turnovers::

**Dragi** – I hope you liked this chapter, and that it lived up to your expectations! I'm not sure how soon the next chapter will come out, though...::tosses you a slice of Key Lime Pie::

**Dragons Star** – I'm just glad I've got as many people reading it as I do now! It is really wonderful! And I know that I tend not to read OC fics too often because they're too easily messed up – the new people are Mary Sues and overly powerful, overly perfect, and the canon characters are left staring in wonder and falling all over their feet to fall in love with them... That doesn't characterize _all_ OC fics, though! I'll make sure to take a look at yours, though...You've been so sweet about mine!! ::hugs you and gives you Chocolate Meringue::

**CustomMagnum** – I'm glad you're enjoying the story! Thank you for reading! ::gives you oatmeal raison cookies:: I hope the fic remains at high standards – I'll be editing all the attacks as soon as I get the chance. You wouldn't, by the way, happen to know Chakmon's attacks? The site didn't have them...

**Wedge** – Glad you like it! As to the "please update more quickly" thing...As I said above, I'm in my Senior year of High School. That means advanced classes, tons of homework, a lot of time doing college work, and plenty of other things. Plus, NaNoWriMo is coming up. I have to say, you're lucky you're getting this chapter so soon. But please don't give up on this fic! I may be a slow updater, but this _is_ one fic I want to finish! ::nods firmly:: ::hands you a lollipop::


	5. The Stranger in the Forest

**Title: Return to the Frontier**

Author: AikoNamika  
Warnings: Original Characters (attempts not to make them Mary Sues/Gary Stus, but they're still original), language, occasional violence, an author who's often just making things up as she goes along.  
Pairings: None at the moment.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon: Frontier, or any of its related merchandise. They belong to rich people in big offices, while I'm just a girl with personality problems. However, all original characters, original Digimon, and the plot line belong to me, and there will be severe consequences if I see anyone stealing without permission!  
Note: I'm working with a combination of the English anime and what information I can glean off of websites – if something seems completely screwed up, well then you know why.  
Additional Note: The little commentary-thingies at the end of the "episodes" will be done by my muse/plot-bunny wrangler, Nall. Just so you know who the heck he is. ::nods::

Nall: With Takuya and Chisato are on their way back to the Forest Terminal aboard the Trailmon, it looks like Junpei and Tomoki are next up. I hope they don't have as much trouble with _their_ target as Takuya had with Chisato. After all, there's two of them, so it should go a lot more easily…right?

**Chapter 5: The Stranger in the Forest**

The heat was intense in the forest, and Junpei wiped at his forehead with yet another of his magician's scarves, the colorful clothes having come in useful for both himself and Tomoki. The smaller boy let out a groan and dropped to the ground for a moment, running his hands through his hair in an attempt to shake some of the ever-present water out of it. The liquid wasn't just the fault of their physical exertions – it seemed as if they were walking through a cloud, judging by how much water was in the air in the midst of the forest.

"Why didn't we see this the _last_ time we were here?!" he exclaimed, flopping back against the ground so that he lay on his back, looking up toward where the tree trunks reached up, and up, and up…It was like they never stopped!

"I dunno, little guy. Maybe this was one of the places that had already been scanned – the Digital World was already pretty patchy when we first arrived, y'know?" Junpei said, cracking his back and then pulling out a few more scarves. He eyed them for a moment, and then twisted them around rapidly, handing the complete head bandana over to his friend. "Here, tie this around your head, right at the hairline. It should help soak up some sweat." As Tomoki gratefully tied it on, Junpei made one for himself and wrapped it around his forehead, tying it tightly behind him; when he glanced down at Tomoki, he had to laugh – his friend looked like some sort of guerilla fighter, clad in the greens and browns they'd worn to try and blend in, with the red bandanas forming a spot of brightness in the forest.

"All you need is some mud streaks, and you'd look like a movie star, Tomoki!" he chortled, and then laughed harder as Tomoki good-naturedly gathered up some of the damp earth underneath of him and smeared it across his face.

"Whaddya think? Do I look good, or do I look good?" He posed for a second, and then an evil grin spread across his face. "Then again, if _I'm _going to be a forest fighter, than so are _you_!" Of course, before Junpei knew what he was doing, Tomoki had already lunged at him and shoved him to the ground, smearing dirt across the larger boy's face as well.

"Hey, hey! I give, I give already!" With a mock-resigned expression, Junpei allowed Tomoki to add "war paint" to his features, and then with a yell he pounced, already gathering up dirt.

A mud/dirt war ensued, and by the time the two boys had settled down, they were both covered fairly uniformly in mud, and they were both grinning like loons about the entire thing. However, the scuffle had allowed them to relieve plenty of the tension that had been building up as they searched fruitlessly for their goal and found nothing more than trees, trees, and more trees. Oh yes, and a few bushes. They'd asked the few Digimon whom they'd met so far if they knew anything about a Legendary Warrior in the forest, but for the most part they'd only received replies of, "I don't know," or dead silence while the Digimon they'd asked would hurry away as fast as possible.

The fact that the forest Digimon seemed so _afraid_ of something had triggered Junpei's suspicions, and he and Tomoki were doing their best to find out what it was that had them so frightened. Was it the rouge Legendary Warrior?

Finally they'd gained a little bit of information that might help them – "Go to the temple and ask there." So they'd stopped searching for the Legendary Warrior and started searching for the temple – both searches had the same result of absolutely, positively, completely, nothing. Thus their previous state of frustration and tension, which led to their current state of being covered in mud and feeling a lot better about the world(s) in general.

Tomoki lay down again, and this time Junpei joined him – neither was really worried about the ground being dirty, as they were both probably dirtier than the ground now – and sighed, resting his head on his folded hands and staring off into nothing.

"What's wrong?" Junpei lifted his head a little bit, looking over at the other boy.

"I dunno. I'm really happy to be back here and all, and now I know that my mom won't be worried if I don't come back immediately – I told her that I was sleeping over at a friend's house, just in case we didn't get back as fast as we did last time," Tomoki explained, and Junpei nodded – he'd done much the same thing. The smaller boy continued, "But…I really don't know. It doesn't seem like it's as much _fun_ this time around, though I remember that last time wasn't a ton of fun, either! I don't know why, though…" He trailed off in confusion.

"Maybe it's the fact that we all split up this time – we're not traveling all together in one big group like last time," Junpei offered, and then turned his own gaze upward as Tomoki nodded eagerly. "I know what you mean; I feel the same way about the whole thing. However, if you think about it, this is more important than last time!"

"Yeah!" Tomoki's voice was awed and excited, as well as more than a little frightened. "I mean, Cherubimon and Lucemon were bad enough, but whoever _this_ guy is, he's managed to trap four Legendary Warriors in their own shapes, and to keep the Great Angels from leaving their castle! Grottomon and the rest could only manage to make Seraphimon turn into a Digiegg last time because he'd just been woken up – he wasn't nearly as strong as he could be! But this guy's even worse than that…"

The two of them lay in silence for a long time before Junpei let out a sigh and began to get to his feet reluctantly. He held out a hand to Tomoki, a rueful expression on his face.

"Okay, enough of us lazing around little buddy – we've got some work to do, and it won't get done if we just sit around like bumps on a log." His voice was apologetic, but he still managed to inject a certain amount of amusement into it, especially when accompanied by that grin of his. Tomoki accepted the hand off, and the two turned to continue in the direction they'd been heading in before, two dirt-stained warriors united by a bond of friendship deeper than anything else.

---

Surprisingly, it wasn't too much later that the two finally burst out of the forest proper and into a huge clearing; there, they stopped and stared around in shock and amazement as they tried to take everything in at once. It was hard, though…in the center of the clearing were the clear remains of what looked like it had once been some sort of Mayan temple, a ziggurat made out of pale gray stone that stretched upwards toward the sky majestically. Closer up it was apparent that designs and patterns had been etched into the stone with amazing precision and grace, covering almost every inch of the temple with beautiful artwork. It was mostly plant-themed art, appropriate to their surroundings, though there were several patterns that had no real meaning to either boy who examined them.

"Can I help you?" The soft, deceptively mild voice came from behind them, causing Junpei to spin around rapidly while Tomoki yelped and then turned to face their unknown "assailant" almost as fast as Junpei had. The reality of the stranger's appearance was…odd. There were no distinctive facial features, only a long, hooded off-white robe that hid any clue as to his identity behind concealing folds of fabric. A single pale hand emerged from one sleeve, lightly grasping a wooden staff, while the tips of black shoes could be seen peeking out from underneath the hem of the robe. Otherwise…they had nothing to go on.

"Who are you?" Junpei demanded, his expression fierce. He didn't want to be caught off guard by anything, especially if this was the thing frightening the forest Digimon. However, the newcomer did not seem at all discomfited by his actions and continued to radiate an aura of serenity.

"I would ask the same of you, seeing as this is my home that you have intruded upon. However, to make you at ease, I shall reply anyway. I am Mokuzaimon, keeper and guardian of this temple." At that he offered them a little bow, bending slightly at where Tomoki guessed his waist would be, before straightening once more. "May I have the same courtesy of the two strangers before me?"

It was weird…Mokuzaimon spoke with a strange formality that was alien to Junpei, and his voice (because he at least _sounded_ like a "he") was a smooth, cultured tone that made him think of some of the rich kids he'd seen hanging around before. Unlike the rich kids though, there was no hint of any of the high-and-mighty, "I'm better than you ever will be," tone. The cloaked Digimon spoke to them as if they were his equals, though still strangers.

"Eh-heh…Sorry 'bout that. I'm Junpei Shibayama, and this is Tomoki Himi. We're from the Human World." Junpei put one hand behind his head in a little bit of embarrassment, and offered a charming grin, while Tomoki just smiled with the unbridled enthusiasm that was part of what made him essentially _him_.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Junpei Shibayama and Tomoki Himi. Would you care to join me inside and refresh yourselves? It is approaching noon, and it is not a good time to be outside in the heat." With a graceful gesture, the robed figure gestured toward the temple with one hand, turning as if ready to move inside at any time.

"Would we ever!" Tomoki exclaimed, bowing courteously to the tall Digimon as his grin widened. "And you can just call me Tomoki, you don't need to use my full name."

"Same for me – is there anything you want us to call you other than _your_ full name?" Junpei was just as excited as his fried to get out of the heat, but he was aware that he should be polite to his host.

"No…Mokuzaimon will suffice. Please, join me." The hooded Digimon turned fully and led the pair into the cool stone darkness of the temple. They walked down a long hallway, the temperature dropping with each step until the blazing heat of the outdoors was barely a memory, and the two boys were sighing in deep relief and content with the change.

"Here is a bathing room, if you would care to clean up – I have refreshments waiting, and places where you may rest if you wish to do so," Mokuzaimon said quietly while opening a door, and the two humans entered while looking around in wonder. With a soft murmur of "I shall return later," the robed Digimon left them.

The bathing room was tastefully opulent, with a _huge_ pool that dominated the room. To one side waited smaller tubs and shower heads, obviously there to be used for the actual cleaning before they entered the large pool. With identical exclamations of delight, Junpei and Tomoki dropped their backpacks by the door and made their way over to the showers, shedding clothes as they went.

They later settled into the warm water of the pool while sighing happily; Junpei slung his elbows over the edge and let the heat soak into him, a hot towel resting on his forehead, while Tomoki floated slowly across the surface of the water with his eyes closed and a silly grin on his face. It was so _nice_ to be clean and sweat-free – the dirt bath had felt good to get rid of the sweat at first, but then it had started to itch a lot after a while, and then they'd just felt so dirty…Being clean was a wonderful thing.

"Will you be joining me for a light lunch?" The soft question startled both boys badly, and they did their best to jump while still in water. Junpei's towel fell into the water and Tomoki nearly drowned himself when he tried to stand while the bottom of the pool was still several feet below him. After he swam over to the side where he could cling to the side, and Junpei had recovered his wits, they both looked over to the entrance where their host was standing, looking oddly abashed. It was strange to see, because featureless robed people don't usually convey emotion very well. "I apologize…I did not mean to startle you so."

"S'okay," Junpei muttered, coughing out a bit of water he'd tried to inhale. "'m good. You okay, little buddy?" A few coughs answered his statement, and a vigorous nodding of a head. "Yeah, we're good. So…What didja want again?" He looked back over at Mokuzaimon, who was waiting for them much as he had been before, though he'd left his staff behind somewhere.

"I wished to know if you would join me for a light lunch – you have probably traveled far, and I wish to know what it is you have come seeking," the tall Digimon replied in his cool-as-a-cucumber voice. He placed the towels he'd been carrying on a bench near him, along with two sets of robes very much like his own (though one was smaller – obviously meant to fit Tomoki). "I have brought some clean clothing for you that you may wear until I have cleaned your current clothes."

"Food? I'm there!" Tomoki's enthused voice rang out, and he began to swim over towards the stairs leading out of the pool with Junpei in hot pursuit.

"Yeah, we're coming!" Junpei echoed, offering his host one of his cocky grins.

"Very well then. Once you are dressed, simply exit to the left out of the door and proceed until you come to a door on the right. I will be waiting for you there." With another of his little bows, Mokuzaimon left them alone.

As they were getting dried off, Tomoki glanced up at his friend with a speculative look on his face. "Is it just me, or is there something kinda…weird about him?"

"You mean the fact that you never see his face or anything specific about him, or the weird shivery feeling I keep getting around him?" Junpei replied, his tone sarcastic but his words serious. The cumulative effect that the Digimon had upon him was a combination of said shivery feeling and a sensation that he should _know_ him somehow…

"Both, I guess. That and the fact that he just invited us in here without really knowing who we are – for all he knows, we might be trying to kill us!" Tomoki exclaimed, and then a frown furrowed his brow. "For that matter, how do we know that _he's_ not going to try to kill _us_?"

"I don't think he's got homicidal intentions toward us," the taller boy said, his words muffled as her pulled the robe over his head. As he finally got it on entirely, he grinned at the other boy, managing to dispel the uneasiness that had been clouding his thoughts. "Anyway, if he'd wanted to kill us, he had plenty of opportunities where we were pretty damn vulnerable, and he didn't take any of them. More than that, he's offering us food!" As if on cue, both humans' stomachs grumbled to remind them of the fact that they hadn't eaten in far too long (at least according to their stomachs). Both Junpei and Tomoki were growing boys though, and they eagerly acceded to their bodies' demands for sustenance.

"Now, how do we get there again?" Junpei mused, rubbing his chin with one hand as he looked both ways down the corridor through the door that led out.

"We turn left, and it's the first door on the right, he said," Tomoki reminded his friend, setting out at a quick pace even as he spoke, reveling in the feeling of the cool stone floor beneath his bare feet.

"H-hey! Wait for me!" The Thunder Warrior exclaimed, darting after the smaller boy and catching up with him easily. "You didn't have to start without me…" he grumbled.

With a sigh, Tomoki cast Junpei an "oh yeah?" expression, clearly indicating his disbelief of the statement, and then continued down the hallway side-by-side with his friend.

They reached the door quickly, and opened it, stepping out into…a forest.

"Awww, man! We took a wrong turn! What happened back there?" With much wailing and gnashing of teeth, Junpei was about to head back into the dimness of the corridor when Tomoki tugged on his sleeve, catching his attention.

"This isn't the same forest! Look, the trees in here are all different, and it's cooler in here. And if you look up…" He trailed off, looking up even as he pointed out the object of his scrutiny: the entire place was roofed by a series of multi-layered, multi-faceted panels of glass that let the sun through, along with a cool breeze, but kept the majority of the heat from disturbing the peace.

"Do you like my sanctuary?" The quiet comment caused both boys to bring their gaze back to ground level and toward where their host stood, waiting for them. For a moment they both stared, as the Digimon was not wearing the concealing hood any longer…and it was very, very difficult to tell that he wasn't as human as they. The pointed ears were a clue though, along with the fact that his deep green eyes were actually _glowing_ softly in the cool light of the indoor forest.

"I find that having someplace such as this is a blessing when the outside world become too hectic – and as I am best suited to a hermit's life with the occasional visit, the outside world seems far too hectic almost constantly." The young man smiled faintly and then turned back down the moss-carpeted path he'd arrived on, his deep brown hair (the exact color of forest earth, Tomoki noted wonderingly) gently brushing against his ears. Junpei and Tomoki followed after slowly, the two taking their time to stare and gape at the amazing landscape – it seemed like it should be impossible to have something such as this, a forest in the middle of a stone temple, but then again, the Digital World didn't play by any rules except for its own. Of course those rules were often irritatingly ambiguous, to the annoyance of those who were attempting to obey them (or move around them).

"This is _great_!" Tomoki burst out, not able to hold his excitement in any longer. He grinned widely as they entered a clearing, a large stone in the center serving as a table while conveniently-place tree stumps were perfect for chairs or stools for whoever wanted to sit there, no matter their height. The light-brown-haired boy plopped himself down on one of the taller stumps, resting his chin on his hands as he stared in awe around him, smiling delightedly at the small (but still rich-looking) meal laid out before them.

"Yeah," Junpei agreed, "this is really nice." He lifted his cup toward his host, who merely bowed his head a bit. "Let's dig in!"

"Kampai!"

They all began to eat enthusiastically, though the two humans ate at a far faster pace than the dignified Digimon, who contented himself with slight amusement at the voracious state of his guests. As their stomachs started to fill and lost the growling hunger they'd had not a few minutes ago, Tomoki and Junpei slowed down as well. While Junpei was busy decimating a meat-apple that was the same flavor as roast beef, Tomoki looked over at their host.

"Ummm…Mokuzaimon? Would you say that you know all the Digimon around here?" With Mokuzaimon right there to talk to, it would be silly to ignore this opportunity to find out more about the object of their quest – the Warrior of Wood (and probably of other growing things as well – wouldn't Warrior of the Forest be a better title? Tomoki shook his head to stop his musings – he didn't need to be zoning out now). He listened eagerly for the Digimon's reply.

"I would say so that I do not intimately know all of the Digimon within this forest, but I do know of most of them. If I need something, I ask the information of those who live close by. Why do you ask?" Mokuzaimon's response was, as always, infuriatingly calm and controlled.

"Well…" the young boy said, and then continued, "Junpei and I are looking for a certain Digimon, but we don't really know if they're here or somewhere else, and I was hoping you might know."

For some reason, it seemed like some sort of indefinable tension was beginning to build up around them, but neither of the humans could really figure out why. Junpei put the half-eaten apple down on his plate, turning his attention to the elf-like Digimon as well. Maybe they could get this quest over with really fast and go back soon! They might even be able to beat all of the others back!

Mokuzaimon's hand stilled for a moment before he replied. "I see. Do you know the name of this Digimon?"

"No…That's why I wanted to ask you. I was hoping you might know," Tomoki explained.

"Yeah! Hey, if you know where he is, too, then that would be even better!" Junpei chimed in. He cheerfully met the glowing green gaze that turned to watch him, his smile staying strong the entire time.

"What Digimon is it that you seek? If I know of such a 'mon, I will do my best to tell you where they might be." By this time the background noise had faded away, and both boys suddenly noticed just how quiet it had become in the walled enclosure, and they fidgeted slightly in discomfort. The younger of the two plowed on anyway, determined to at least get this out of his way.

"We're looking for the Legendary Warrior of Wood." As those words dropped into the air, everything went completely silent. Mokuzaimon froze where he sat; his eyes were trained onto the grainy surface of their table as if it were the most fascinating object in the world. Then he raised his gaze to look upon the two as if he were judging their every thought, and a sudden, sad look entered his eyes.

"Yes, I do know of the Digimon you seek." For some reason neither boy could actually say anything – it was like they were glued to their seats with their mouths sewn shut. "You need not search further, for you have found the object of your quest."

Mokuzaimon rose to his feet in a motion reminiscent of a tree growing up from the ground and spreading its leaves out, and that sad look grew even more forlorn. Suddenly Junpei knew exactly what the other was about to say, but there was nothing he could do.

"I am the Warrior of the Forest."

-tbc-

Nall: Like that was much of a shock – of course, Aiko couldn't write suspense to save her life, which is why-

::whackthudsmack::

::Author stands over the cowed muse with a pillow in either hand, glaring viciously::

Nall: Ow! Okay, okay, sorry. Let's try this again. Mokuzaimon, the nice Digimon that helped Tomoki and Junpei out when they needed it, turns out to be the very Digimon they've been looking for! At least that means their search for him is over, but that still leaves one question: Is this guy gonna be as much trouble as Chisato, or is he going to come along nicely? Find out in the next chapter!

(Offstage)

Nall: Geeze…girl can't even take a joke…

::thwapthwapthwapTHUNK::

Nall: Can't take a joke, and keeps bricks in her pillows…::wobbles off for some Tylenol::

Aiko: Alright, I'm very sorry about how long that took me to get out. I was having trouble going and getting this to work the way I wanted it, and I finally decided to just ditch the "have the first battle in the first part" idea, and go for the "dramatic revelation of identity right at the end". Of course, most of you probably figured out who he was the moment he showed up, but that's irrelevant for now. I've got ideas for the next chapter about the confrontation between Mokuzaimon and the boys, but they're only ideas for now. I swear I will get to work right away, though!!! Any suggestions (and feedback! Feedback is always loved!) would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Notes: Kampai A traditional Japanese saying that is basically equivalent to "cheers" or "let's eat!"

Reviewer Responses: I love you guys, you know that?

**Dragi** – "Update really soon", huh? Sorry 'bout that. I'll try to get the next one out a bit faster. I'm glad you like the story so much, though! Thank you!

**Fallen Angel of Oblivion** – I'm glad I used the attacks right! I was a bit worried about that, because I was guessing (it was a fifty-fifty chance I'd get it right, ne?). And don't worry about the confusion over the "rewrite or not" thing! It really is okay. Thank you for reviewing!

**CustomMagnum** – Ah hah! I was trying to figure out the last one! Thank you so much! ::glomps::

**Dragons Star** – Hee hee…Chisato really is a rather arrogant girl. She's just gonna get worse as the story continues, though she is (possibly) a nice girl at heart. …I think. But yes, she is designed to play kinda opposite of Takuya. In a way, she's the leader of the four new Chosen Children, and partially Kouichi because he was originally evil along with their Spirits. Plus, they've got the shared experience of being trapped as Digimon without any memory of being human…I was tempted to give her goggles, but decided against it. Maybe sunglasses…

**coughkouichicough** – Bushang? I've never heard that before…I like it! I'm very pleased that you liked this chapter, though! ::hugs:: As you can see, Kouji and Kouichi aren't in this chapter. I hope you don't mind, but that's the way it worked out in my head.

**BlueSakuramon** – I'm glad you like Chisato. ::smirks:: You might not in the future. Anyway, we're on to the Warrior of the Forests now (I decided that Forest sounds so much better than Wood), and the others will come up in their turn.

**mima57775** – I'm very pleased that you like this story. ::smiles:: It makes me feel loved to see people reviewing what I write. Thank you!

Once again, a great many thanks to all those who reviewed! Please review again this time, hm? ::chuckles:: Cookies for everyone!!! ::tosses them into the air gleefully::


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